The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-06-01
The Guilford Miller Decision.

BY the terms of the land grant to the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company, the
Company was authorized, whenever any
of the land granted was found to be in
the possession of actual settlers, to select
| other land in place of it, to the extent
| necessary to enable it to receive the full
measure of land which the Government
intended to convey; and, in 1872, by an
order of the Interior Department, a
large body of land was withdrawn from
entry in order to meet the possible re-
quirements of the grant.
In 1873 Guilford Miller settled upon
some of the land withdrawn from entry,
made substantial Improvements upon
it, and has lived upon it ever since.
He desired to perfect his title to it and
was proceeding to DO so, when the
Attorney General decided that he had
not acquired any interest in the land or
right to it, because by the order of the
Interior Department, of 1872, the land
of which Guilford Miller's is portion
was withdrawn from entry to meet the
possible requirements of the Northern
Pacific Land grant.
This decision was so obviously against
the equities of the case that it raised a
howl of indignation which called the
attention of President Cleveland to it,
and he proceeded to right the great
wrong by suggesting 70 the Secretary of
the Interior to direct the railroad COM
pany if it has a right to any land at all
to "select in lieu of the land upon
which Mr.. Miller has settled, other land
within the limit of this indemnity reser-
walton, upon which neither he nor any
other citizen has in good faith settled or
made improvements"
Strange as it may seem the railroad
company announces that it is entirely
willing to adopt the course suggested
by the President. 1t will undertake to
ascertain how much of the land to
which it is entitled it can obtain in its
grant belt, in order to know what it
will be permitted to take in the indem-
nifty belts. The deficiency will be Sc
lected from "unoccupied' land in the
indemnity belts, and the remaining lands
will be Immediately opened for settle
ment
had the railroad company heretofore
pursued the course which it announces
itself as being willing now to pursue,
there would have been no need for the
Intervention of President Cleveland to
secure the repeal of the obnoxious order
of the Interior Department, under which,
it is alleged, the company has been in
the habit of selecting the farms of
pioneers in the indemnity belts instead
of "unoccupied" lands. Complaint was
made to the Land Office two years ago
that the company, under cover of selec-
tions far exceeding any possible indem-
nifty right, "while selling land in large
quantities to foreign syndicates at low
prices, was demanding payment from
settlers at exorbitant prices for the |
lands on which their homes had been
Following up the suggestion of the
President with reference to the Guilford |
Miller case, Secretary Lamar, has served |
notice on all the railroad companies
claiming any interest in government
lands heretofore withdrawn from entry
by Departmental order, to show cause
why all such lands shall not be again |
subjected to entry and sale.
In the work of wringing from the
land-grabbers the remnant of the public
domain, Mr.. Cleveland could have no
more faithful coadjutor than Secretary
Lamar, who, in his annual report to
Congress, showed that his labors in that
behalf had been determined, vigilant
and unceasip0.